San Francisco: March 2026: Day 3/4/5: AAG Annual Meeting

San Francisco

March 2026: Days 3/4/5: El Rio + fooding

Dragon Gate in Chinatown.

Menu at City View Restaurant.

Inside. Might be more seating, didn't go very far in.

Har cheung fun quite good.

Shu mai nice and fat, but not too fat.

Deep fried shrimp ball and crab claw. Huge.

Pai gut pretty good but a few pieces were all bone.

Har go skins a bit too thick, not enough folds, and dainty.

Paolo and Abi at House of Nanking.

Beef was good but veggies were nearly raw.

Pork dumplings solid if utility.

Veggie dumplings.

Fish, mushrooms, and cauliflower.

Salt and pepper mushrooms.

Vegetable chow mein.

Alimento for gelato.

One of two gelato cabinets.

Cookie dough on left, cookies and cream on right.

House of Nanking.

Golden Gate Bakery is seemingly never open.

Yin Du Wonton Noodle is packed. Menu.

Menu.

Won ton noodle for only $9. Good portion.

Close-up.

Ngau paak yip (steamed beef tripe).

Noodle pull is strong.

UCLA, Cal, UC Davis, UCSB combined AAG party at El Rio.

Inside. Still early.

Back patio.

One of at least two cats at El Rio.

Grad students.

More grad students.

Not yet 7:30pm, still not that busy.

Tamales from a stand on the patio. Quite decent.

Professor Salazar Hughes, Professor Beer, Professor Raphael, Professor Moore.

Professor Kay and many others.

Professor Emeritus Sheppard and others.

Excited Geographers.

8:30pm and the patio is now wall to wall packed.

Random sighting of Professor Fricker.

Professor Fricker and Professor Bennett.

Next day at Rice Roll Express.

Rice Roll Express.

Rice Roll Express special cheung fun.

Beef, pork, BBQ pork, egg, scallion.

Pei dan sau yuk jook (preserved egg and pork congee).

Outside.

Took advantage of the lunch breaks at AAG Annual Meeting to run off to Chinatown for lunch. City View Restaurant is a bit on the fancier side for dim sum, but they had nice small tables as well as booths, cold A/C, and fat deep fried shrimp ball with crab claw. Overall quite tasty, including the har cheung fun. Shu mai were nice and fat and decent quality, although not memorable. Pai gut cuts were just a tad sub-par but meaty enough, and the only real miss was the shu mai, which lacked the right number of folds.

Dinner that night was with Professor Bhattachan, Shristi, and Professor D'Odorico at House of Nanking. Not the best food, but a definite shot of nostalgia for PhD advisor and former student, plus a quick walk to North Beach for some excellent gelato.

More rushed lunch wandering the next day, with the very popular, very affordable, and cash-only Yin Du Wonton House being well worth the wait. Ngau paak yip (beef tripe) was not cheap compared to the won ton noodle soup, but worth it if you're into beef tripe. Had to run back to the conference after, where Professor Jon Ocon gave a very effective presentation on his use of AI in the classroom. Given students are using it whether you like it or not, seeing faculty understand it, let alone embrace it, remains few and far between.

Combined UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, and UCSB AAG Party was a bit south that night at El Rio in the Mission. Quite a big area, Mexican and Salvadorian (please correct me if I am wrong), while El Rio itself had not only a large vendor-populated back patio, but karaoke inside along with a crowded bar, and at least two housecats. The first hour or two got busy but not crazy, while by the end of the second hour it was wall-to-wall people. Managed to catch up with most of the colleagues I expected to see, although I know I still missed a few. Seemed like a big hit overall, at least if you didn't mind crowds.

Managed to get up the next morning and back to the conference, and while the plenary that day was tempting, ended up needing a break from sessions and back in Chinatown instead for lunch. Rice Roll Express isn't as good as Yin Du, but they're not bad, and they actually had not only available seating but power outlets at some of the tables. House special cheung fun was quite elaborate, pei dan sau yuk jook was okay... and yes, walked by Golden Gate Bakery while I was in the area, and they were still closed.